Phoresy is a type of interaction in which one species, the phoront, uses another species, the dispersal host, for transportation to new habitats or resources. Despite being a widespread behaviour, little is known about the ecology and evolution of phoresy. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive review of phoretic dispersal in animals and to bring renewed attention to this subject. We surveyed literature published between 1900 and 2020 to understand the extent of known higher‐level taxonomic diversity (phyla, classes, and orders) and functional aspects of animals that use phoretic dispersal. Species dispersing phoretically have been observed in at least 13 animal phyla, 25 classes, and 60 orders. The majority of known phoronts are arthropods (Phylum Euarthropoda) in terrestrial habitats, but phoronts also occur in freshwater and marine environments. Marine phoronts may be severely under‐represented in the literature due to the relative difficulty of studying these systems. Phoronts are generally small with low mobility and use habitats or resources that are ephemeral and/or widely dispersed. Many phoronts are also parasites. In general, animals that engage in phoresy use a wide variety of morphological and behavioural traits for locating, attaching to, and detaching from dispersal hosts, but the exact mechanisms behind these activities are largely unknown. In addition to diversity, we discuss the evolution of phoresy including the long‐standing idea that it can be a precursor to parasitism and other forms of symbioses. Finally, we suggest several areas of future research to improve our understanding of phoresy and its ecological and evolutionary significance.

中文翻译：

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动物的电泳：一种常见但未充分研究的传播模式的回顾和综合

Phoresy 是一种相互作用，其中一个物种（phoront）使用另一个物种（传播宿主）运输到新的栖息地或资源。尽管是一种普遍的行为，但人们对 phoresy 的生态学和进化知之甚少。我们的目标是对动物的泳动传播进行全面审查，并重新引起对该主题的关注。我们调查了 1900 年至 2020 年间发表的文献，以了解已知的高级分类多样性（门、纲和目）的程度以及使用泳动传播的动物的功能方面。已在至少 13 个动物门、25 个纲和 60 个目中观察到以游动方式散布的物种。大多数已知的前肢动物是陆地栖息地中的节肢动物（真节肢动物门），但也存在于淡水和海洋环境中。由于研究这些系统相对困难，因此在文献中海洋生物体的代表性可能严重不足。Phoront 通常很小，移动性低，使用短暂和/或广泛分散的栖息地或资源。许多phoronts 也是寄生虫。一般来说，从事运动的动物使用各种各样的形态和行为特征来定位、附着和分离散布宿主，但这些活动背后的确切机制在很大程度上是未知的。除了多样性之外，我们还讨论了 phoresy 的演变，包括长期存在的想法，即它可以成为寄生和其他形式的共生的先驱。最后，我们提出了未来研究的几个领域，以提高我们对 phoresy 及其生态和进化意义的理解。